GDrive the Future of Data Storage?

If Google gets its way, the search giant could soon be acting as your hard drive. The company accidentally leaked speaker's notes from CEO Eric Schmidt's appearance at its analyst event, which detailed plans for Google to be at the center of data storage.

Google would initially like to store e-mails, Web history, pictures and bookmarks -- much like Microsoft's Windows Live service -- eventually moving toward storing "100% of user data." The notes say that the company is currently working on such plans, including something called "GDrive."

Details aren't provided on this feature, but it would likely have something to do with the plans mentioned in the notes. The effort would put the company in direct competition with Microsoft, and inevitably spur discussions on privacy and security.

GDrive would likely garner the attention of both the government and hackers, who for their own reasons may want access to the data. However, Schmidt told analysts at the event that any data held would only be with the user's permission.

Google is not commenting on the inadvertent release, saying the notes weren't intended for publication and that the company has "nothing to announce at this time." However, it looks as if much of the plans are aimed at undercutting Microsoft.

Right now, due to the way data is stored, the computer and cell phone become more important than Internet services. With centrally located data, the operating system becomes less relevant. According to the notes of the presentation, Google believes centralized storage "suits our strength vis-à-vis Microsoft."